Every book is different. Every book presents new challenges. At least, that’s been true for me, and other writers have said so as well.
Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity of discussing the difficulties of pulling all the threads together to complete a trilogy. No doubt many series writers could offer advice.
I thought I had come up with a solution. Okay, it really was a solution. I simply failed to follow through on my part of the deal:
I decided to take each character and write out the roles each one plays in the story. What did they need to do to complete their emotional arcs. If I did that, it would serve as an outline to carry me through the last half of the book.
So I went to work—for three or four days . . .
Juggling Multiple Wheels
You may have noticed I skipped last week’s blog. I got carried away by a new/old enthusiasm: my verse novel project (retelling The Goose Girl tale) that had already consumed the whole month of May.
For our June meeting, I gave the first pages of this verse-and-vignette story to my critique group. I was surprised by their enthusiasm. So then I became consumed by the need to attend to the minor changes they suggested . . .
And voila! I was playing with a wholly different wheel.
Another piece of advice I adhere to is to follow one’s enthusiasm. That’s what I’ve been doing. It makes me happy—when not being dragged away to deal with other responsibilities.
Back to that first wheel
Meanwhile, I’ve realized I have a lot of research to do on the sci-fi trilogy. Some of it, I’ve been doing without realizing, but for the rest, it would be good to put my whole mind to it—when I’m not playing with verse novels, that is.
Everyone out there, enjoy your lives, and address them with enthusiasm!
Kate Harrington 